RIIFF to present the

23rd Annual

Japanese Film Festival

July 22-23rd

• SPECIAL SIDE-BAR TO CELEBRATE NEWPORT’S BLACK SHIPS FESTIVAL

In 1984, a dedicated group of civic and community leaders were drawn together to help create an event that celebrated the arts, culture and Rhode Island’s historical friendship with Japan. One of the founding members of this group was Flickers—The Newport Film Society, which participated by creating, curating and presenting the Japanese Film Festival. Now, 24 years later and as many years of screening this festival, Flickers has evolved into the Flickers Arts Collaborative and produces the Annual Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) which is now celebrating its 10th Anniversary Year.

As a prelude to its August event (August 8-13 2006), the Rhode Island International Film Festival, through Flickers, is proud to again continue to salute the Black Ships Festival in Newport. On Saturday, July 22nd, and Sunday, July 23rd, RIIFF will present its annual two-day celebration of the best of Japanese filmmaking in collaboration with the newly restored Redwood Library at 50 Bellevue Avenue, Newport. Along with 16 United States Premieres, this mini-festival will feature award-winning shorts, cutting-edge anime, and several feature-length films. It is also free to the general public, with seating at a first-come, first served basis. The program is curated by James Hinsey of Portsmouth.

“We feel that this is a great way for the general public to discover how Japanese cinema has influenced so many of the world’s leading filmmakers and artists,” said RIIFF Executive Director, George T. Marshall, founder of both Flickers and RIIFF.

“We began screening Japanese films for the Black Ships Festival in 1984,” added Marshall. “Thanks to the worldwide reputation of the Rhode Island International Film Festival, we have access to major new work that is submitted. This year alone, we had over 2,000 entries and about 53 came from filmmakers in Japan. Since RIIFF is the only New England Film Festival that is a qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, (aka, the Oscars), is has seen its entry base grow exponentially on a yearly basis.”

The Black Ships Festival commemorates the historic achievements of Commodore Matthew C. Perry, USN, of Newport, Rhode Island. The "Black Ships," or "Kurofune," refers to the Japanese term for foreign ships which, with one exception, were excluded from Japan for two hundred years until 1854. Commodore Perry negotiated the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, the first treaty between the United States and Japan, thus ending two centuries of Japanese isolationism. The Black Ships Festival celebrates the signing of the treaty, which brought the two countries together as trading partners.

The Black Ships Festival is presented by The Japan-America Society Black Ships Festival of Rhode Island, Inc., a non-profit, non-partisan organization. For further information, contact The Japan-America Society of Rhode Island, 28 Pelham Street, Newport, RI 02840, call (401) 846-2720 or their website at www.BlackShipsFestival.com.

The special film program being presented this year by RIIFF will take place at the historic Redwood Library and Athenæum, 50 Bellevue Avenue Newport. The dates are July 22 –23rd. Programming will run from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. There is no admission charge to the general public.

For more information, write RIIFF, P.O. Box 162, Newport, RI 02840. Telephone: 401-861-4445. E-mail: info@film-festival.org

AT A GLANCE:

Who: RIIFF and the Black Ships Festival

What: The 23rd Annual RIIFF Japanese Film Festival

Where: The Redwood Library, 50 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI

When: Saturday, July 22, 2006 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 p.m

.
Sunday, July 23, 2006 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

How: Free to the general public

Contact: 401-861-4445